Audi puts turbo on electric cars

Electric cars should be no different than petrol cars when it comes to offering very sporty versions, Audi believes. That is why there will soon be an S-version of e-tron, boasting up to 503 hp and 974 Nm torque.

Audi already has two performance levels on its electric cars. And now there is one more. And it will be at the very high end.

With a year on the back for Audi’s electric e-tron, its time for a special sporting version – which has always been the tradition of petrol cars.

The new S-model has three electric motors, two on the rear axle, one on the front that increases the total power from 265kW to 370 kW (503 hp) and 974 Nm (718 lb-ft). Thus hurtling the big crossover from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds.

The cooling system ensures that the full boost performance can be delivered without interruption for eight seconds. Without the boost function, the output is 435 hp (320 kW) and 808 Nm.

In normal driving, the car is programmed for maximum efficiency and therefore uses only the rear electric motors. The front motor is switched on when pushing accelerator more forcibly or possibly preventively if the car is losing its grip.

Both S models are available with a new type of headlamp called digital matrix LED.

The new Audi Matrix LED headlights are based on what is known as DMD technology, which stands for Digital Micromirror Device . The heart of the device is a small chip with around one million micromirrors, each of which has an edge length of only a few hundredths of a millimeter. Electrostatic fields allow the mirrors to be tilted at a rate of up to 5,000 times per second. The mirrors’ position determines what happens to the light generated by the three LEDs. A lens system directs the majority of the light onto the street; when a particular area should be dimmed, the necessary light is directed to an absorber that swallows it up.

Both E-tron and E-Tron Sportback come in S-versions, and they will be available this fall.

Audi has not disclose the range of the sporty models, but the maximum charging speed is, as with the other E-tron models, 150 kW.